Over the years, God has allowed me to travel to many churches to share about His goodness and hope.

And because of that, I’ve met many pastors and many, many pastor’s wives, and my heart is heavy for them.

Ministry is hard.
Ministry is lonely.

The weeks I go and speak I notice our family is often attacked by the enemy.

Our pastors and their families are attacked every day by the evil one who would love to get them to quit.

And all the while, many of us hold our ministers and their families to standards that we don’t hold ourselves to.

Rarely do they have safe places where they can share their worries and struggles, and rarely do others ask them how they are doing.

Yes, ministry is incredibly lonely and hard. The pay is small and the demands are great and inconvenient.

Their church members don’t conveniently choose to only be on their death beds from 9 to 5, or only have their marriages fail, or their kids run away, during business hours.

How many times have our pastors and their wives left their families to care for ours? How many times have they came home to cold suppers and missed bedtime kisses?

But here’s my hope, instead of always waiting for them to engage us and care for us, let’s check on them. Let’s ask them how they are doing and be a safe place for them if they tell us.

Let’s recognize their load is tremendously heavy, and let’s find ways to care for them and lighten that load.

Let’s do this in this hard world, because their calling will only get harder.

Let’s keep meeting together and let’s encourage one another (including our pastors and their families) and all the more as we see the Day approaching. (Heb 10:25).

encourageothers

ministryishard

Kimjaggers.com